//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 // Story: BEDLAM // by Gormless Wheaton //------------------------------// I beamed with pride, both at my now mobile creations and the looks of shock on the Elements' faces. Rarity was the first to recover. "What- What in Equestria are those horrible things?" KS 3, the Rarity model, stamped her hoof. [Horrible things! You're one to talk!] I chortled as Rarity recoiled. "These are the Killer Six, named after you ladies! The ultimate realization of my animunculi," I explained, sweeping my arms in presentation of them. "Thanks to all the scans we captured during your little adventure here as well as all the data I've collected on you ladies over the years, not only do they match your shape, but they think like you, act like you, have all your talents and abilities, and most importantly.." I leaned forward at the hips and smiled wide. "They can now use the power of the Elements as well," they froze and stared at me in horror. I reached down and patted KS 6, the Twilight model, on the head. "To say nothing of the fact that they are completely tireless, like all my golems. And just my tireless workforce which was able to transform this facility into its current shape, they will be able to perform all the same feats as you, indefinitely, and always at one hundred percent." I laughed aloud. KS 2, the Rainbow model, leaned forward with a sneer. [You jealous?] The real Rainbow snorted and matched her stance. Twilight meanwhile glanced between me and KS 6, who was glaring hard right back at her. "I knew you fell off the deep end Eddy, but this is just twisted," she firmly fixed me with a scowl. "Especially if you really think these things can actually use the Magic of Friendship." [And why couldn't we?] KS 6 retorted, tilting her head. [We might have only just been born, but Bedlam went to extra special lengths to make sure what we feel for each other is authentic.] She leaned forward with a dangerous light in her eyes. I grinned in pride. [Our friendship is just as strong as yours.] [You tell her Six!] KS 5, the Pinkie model, cheered. [These varmints ain't seen what we got! Guess we best fix that,] KS 1, the Applejack, added with a scrape of her hoof. Applejack responded in kind. KS 4, the Fluttershy, just hummed and tilted her head at her mirror who was biting her hoof. "Bedlam~!" I glanced back at Jury, who was prancing in place with giddiness. "I think it's working!" "Sure seems that way! Only one way to be sure though," I chuckled and swept my arm at Twilight and her friends. "Alright, ladies! Time for a field test!" The Killer Six stamped forward in unison. I inhaled through my teeth and roared. "KILLER SIX! ATTACK!" "Holy smokes," Jury gasped as she leaned over the edge of our backup hovercraft. I was standing and leaning on one knee with that leg propped up on the edge of the vehicle. Down below, the facility was a mess. I'd called off all the combat animunculi to let my girls flex their muscles. And what a sight that had led to. The entire central tower and half the assembly halls and refineries were on fire. Beyond that, the top six floors of the central tower had just collapsed. Not to mention, we'd entered the fourth hour of this little confrontation. Jury blinked and squealed. "Look out!" I sneered as Rainbow, with a feral roar came booming up towards us only to be slammed from the side by KS 2 and then driven back to the ground. I noted KS 2 was missing one of her rearlegs, and her barrel had a nasty crack through it which was crackling with magic, but despite all that she and the rest of the Killer Six were still operating perfectly. The same could not be said for their fleshy counterparts, upon whom exhaustion was rapidly taking hold. Even heroes and alicorns have their limits. Just as predicted. I sat in my seat with a sigh and scooped up Jury, who squeaked in response before humming with contentment as I began scratching her ears. "Won't be long now." She tensed up before pulling free and frowning at me. "What if it doesn't work?" I laughed hard and nodded. "We run." There was a boom down below and we both shuddered before leering over the side. Twilight and her friends had finally had enough and were calling on their trump card, generating a giant rainbow of magic that shot into the air before twisting back towards the Killer Six. Jury pressed her hoof into my hand, and I squeezed. A tense few seconds passed, until suddenly.. Our creations responded with a blast of their own. I leaned on the back of my chair which I was sitting on in reverse. Just in front of me was a magical barrier and beyond that was the cozy cell in which Twilight and her friends were slowly coming to. She opened her eyes with a groan and looked up at me. "Wakey, wakey! And welcome home." She gasped and rolled to her hooves before her ears snapped back as she realized the situation they were in. All their wings were bound, their horns had magic inhibitors, and their Elements were nowhere to be found. I smiled and rested my chin on my arms which I folded on the back of my seat. "What happened?" She desperately huffed as her friends sat up and looked around in horror. "You lost. Kind of predictable really," I replied plainly. "Can't be helped. However much effort you can put out, it has its limits and my machines can match it perpetually." I met her indignant scowl with a toothy grin. "And I can now confirm that includes any and all magic. Even friend-" "Don't you dare." I shrugged. "Fine. I'll spare you from having to actually hear the truth for your sake," I giggled. "Lucky for you, I still have a soft spot for you all." Rainbow groaned and shook her head with a hearty sigh. "This is what you call soft?" I scoffed and waved a hand at the amenities of their cell. Six comfy little beds, plenty of books, snacks, and a private bath. "Of course. Once things are settled and the next step of my plan is finished, you'll be receiving an upgrade, too. Heck!" I shrugged wide with a smile. "The fact I'm giving Celestia the option of surrendering and becoming my Equestrian Administrator I'd say shows how much I care." Twilight's ears perked up. "Celestia.. What have you done?" I laughed aloud. "You think I kept this a secret? The second I got you six back to the real Citadel, the first thing I did was contact Celestia! I'm hoping she wises up before the month is out," I hummed and shrugged. "Then again, she always did strike me as something of a tease." "You aren't going to get away with this," she spat. I didn't respond immediately, instead standing up and leaning against the barrier between us and grinning down at them. "You sure? We're racing towards my checkmate, Princess. The Crystal Mind will be piloted by KS 6 using your brilliant mind, meaning every mistake or problem will be handled with surgical precision. And once these are in place, you can consider that to be a global feature." I clicked a few sequences on my glove and projected the image of a floating tower onto the ground for her to see. "These are what we've been working towards. Why we've been testing the ranges of all those controller towers. These can reach the ground from lower orbit, which is exactly where they'll be going." "Orbit," she muttered, furrowed her brow, and then recoiled with a gasp. "You made an artificial satellite?!" "Technically, Jury did, but yes. Twenty-five of them," I replied, beaming with pride at the image I presented. "Together, they'll spread a sort of net across the whole world, by which the Crystal Mind will be able to communicate with any animunculi anywhere at any time. We won't even need to build a factory to spit them out at new locations! We'll be able to build them here or at our other compounds and then send them out without any direct supervision! And of course, once they secure a new territory, and we fortify it with a factory the same will be true there." Even those of her friends less informed about magic or my machines seemed to understand what I was saying if their terrified faces were any indication. "We're about to expand at a rate you can only imagine. A rapidly spreading cluster of cells scabbing over an open wound, effectively! And all of it in perfect sync, like I explained to you once before." I cut the projection and sneered at them. "You had a chance to be more involved. Now though? You get to sit and watch. So relax and enjoy the show. And don't worry," I leaned down at the hips with a smile. "The world is in the best and most capable of hands. Mine." They stared at me in terrified silence which was cut when the door to the jail was opened. KS 6 came trotting in, holding something up in her magic. [Look what we caught.] The girls gasped as she set the statue down for them to see. "Discord!" Fluttershy screamed before crying. "What did you do to him?!" Twilight yelled, beating her hooves on the barrier while Pinkie consoled Fluttershy. KS 6 scowled at her for a moment before turning her attention to me. [Why are they still alive?] I flinched. "What?" Her head twitched. [There is a problem. Jury-rig needs you in workshop 14.] I stood up straight. "Problem?" [Why are they still alive? We should just get rid of- She said it's urgent.] Her head twitched again, much harder this time. [Aren't we friends, Eddy?] I recoiled and my jaw dropped. Twilight and her friends glanced between us as 6 stared at me. Then she stamped her hoof and stormed out. [Fine! Be that way.] "I-" [Aren't you coming?] She asked, looking back at me. [It's pretty serious. I think Discord might have- Just hang out with them then!] She sobbed, took off at a gallop, and vanished from the room. I stared at the open door in bewilderment for a few moments. "So much for your ultimate dumb robot, huh?" I glared down at the smirking Rainbow Dash before tapping the statue of Discord and smirking back. Then I huffed and left the room. "Well, that was freaky," Twilight groused before looking at the petrified Discord sadly. "You're telling me," a familiar voice responded. The girls all flinched. "Spike?!" Twilight squawked, looking around and seeing nothing. "Yeah, Discord brought me with him," Spike responded, still nowhere to be seen. "He uh, made me invisible and told me to follow them if the whole, uh.." Spike cleared his throat, before speaking in a perfect imitation of Bedlam. "'Grandest achievement you've ever seen! I've replicated the power of the Elements of Harmony! HA HA HA HA!' Thing turned out to be true." [I need them!] KS 3 whined, pulling the wrench from my hand. "Fine, but for what?" I asked. She stopped, looked at the wrench, then at her pile of tools in the corner, and then back at me. [I need them!] I frowned as she scurried over and added the wrench to the pile. I sighed and turned to Jury-rig, who had KS 1 on a work table with her torso open and was examining her gems. Even though she was still active, KS 1 was notably motionless. The others weren't much better off, but KS 2 and 6 at least were watching Jury work. Though, 2 was visibly shaking and rattling in place. "The gem we had the Elements blast broke down real fast, even though we got a good enough look at the magic to duplicate it," Jury offered, rubbing her chin as she leaned closer to KS 1. "Maybe since they're manifesting that magic themselves it's having a delayed effect?" She squeaked in surprise as she was suddenly yanked from her seat by magic. I turned to see KS 6 holding her up and glaring into her eyes. [What are you trying to say? Our own friendship is killing us? Don't be ridiculous! Do you know who we are?] KS 2 rattled again and shakily stomped her hoof. [We're- We're- We're the Elements of Harmony-ny-ny!] There was a squeal, and a crackle of blue lightning danced up her head. I held my hand to my chin and scanned the group. KS 1 was still unresponsive, KS 3 was humming quietly and piling tools from around the workshop into her corner, KS 4 was at the far side of the room staring into a wall, and KS 5 was murmuring an increasingly toxic-sounding recipe for a cake. I hummed and picked up Jury-rig, drawing a glare from KS 6. "I think what's really happening is we've still got some repairs from your big scuffle to tend to." I gave her a reassuring smile. "Buy it. Buy it. Buy it. Buy it." She nodded. [True. That makes sense.] Phew. KS 1 squealed and jumped to her hooves. [Apples.] I blinked. "Urgent repairs." The workshop door suddenly slid open and a storm beast came stomping in. "Boss! The Elements are gone!" I choked and whirled around to him. "The jewelry or the ponies?" "Both." "DAMN IT!" I dropped Jury and held my head as I thrashed. "HOW?!" I blinked and looked down at 6, who was now nuzzling my leg. [Don't worry, Eddlam. We'll- KILL- capture them.] "What?" [Come on, girls!] 6 called, causing them all to snap to attention. Before I could say anything they stampeded out, trampling the reporting beast as they left. His quiet groans of pain were the only sound in the workshop for a few moments. "I think we've got some glitches to iron out," I huffed. "Yep." I scowled and pointed at Jury. "Mobilize all defenses, then meet me at the Crystal Mind. I'm going to try to rein in... whatever's happening inside the Killer Six. But we need to get the satellites in the sky, now."